Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. On Tuesday, the Joint Competition Committee approved the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, powered by T-Mobile, to be used at the MLB level beginning in 2026. It's another technological step forward for a league that has long had replay review in place but has never had a way for teams to appeal the judgment of a home-plate umpire on ball-strike calls.
Now that players will have the opportunity to challenge a minimum of two ball-strike calls per game, there will be less to bicker about.
Unlike "full ABS," the Challenge System employs the computer zone only when a challenge is requested by the batter, pitcher or catcher. Once a challenge is issued, the video board and broadcast showing the exact location of the pitch, tracked by Hawk-Eye, will either confirm or overturn the umpire's decision.
It's quick, too. When MLB experimented with the system in Spring Training this year, the whole thing took, on average, 13.8 seconds per challenge.
The system adds strategy. Players won't be able to challenge every single call they think is wrong and therefore must be judicious.
So if you ARE a big fan of managers storming out of the dugout to protest a ball or strike, kicking their caps, covering the plate with dirt, screaming about how their hitters are "savages in the box" or even Army-crawling on the ground and using the rosin bag as a grenade, well, it can still happen.
Just … not as often.
In Triple-A and Spring Training testing this year, challenges led to an overturn about 51% of the time. And remember, that was on, conceivably, the most contentious calls.
Now, MLB will have a system in place to ensure the absolute most important calls are made correctly.
Hard to argue with that.
-- Anthony Castrovince |
TEAM WAITING TO EXHALE OR TEAM OF DESTINY |
Cleveland will take center stage over the next three days as one of the wildest division races in baseball history comes to a head at Progressive Field. It's hard to believe we're here. The Tigers and Guardians were once separated by 15 1/2 games, and as recently as Sept. 4, Detroit still led Cleveland by 11. Now, the margin is just one game as the clubs prepare for a three-game series with the American League Central on the line. In the midst of an incredible 15-2 stretch, the Guardians have a chance to make history in more ways than one. As we noted here in our look at some of the wildest facts and figures behind the AL Central's unbelievable swing, no club has ever been more than 15 games behind at any point and managed to win its division (or league pennant, prior to 1969). If Cleveland can pull off the comeback, it would also shatter the record for the largest September deficit overcome to finish in first place in its division (since 1969) or league (pre-1969).
The Tigers, meanwhile, are just trying to hold on, having lost six straight and nine of 10. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has worked to keep a positive tone, even as the club has watched what once seemed like an insurmountable lead wither away. After all, as Hinch was quick to point out on Saturday and again on Sunday, the Tigers still control their own destiny.
-- Thomas Harrigan |
Unofficial though it may be, for the remaining contenders in the National League, the playoffs start tonight. With the Padres clinching a postseason berth in walk-off fashion last night, there is only one NL Wild Card spot left for the taking -- and up to five teams are vying for it.
The Reds and Mets are currently tied for that third WC slot, but Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker. The D-backs are only one game behind those clubs, while the Giants and Cardinals are 3 1/2 games back. Time is running out for the latter pair, but they began a three-game series Monday that could effectively end one of their seasons and push the other into playoff position.
Here are three more series to watch with major postseason implications:
- Pirates at Reds (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Coming off a four-game sweep of the Cubs, Cincinnati may be in the driver's seat, facing Pittsburgh (though NL Cy Young candidate Paul Skenes is slated to start Wednesday) and then the Brewers, who could already have the NL's No. 1 overall seed locked up before the weekend.
- Mets at Cubs (7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV and TBS): New York will take on a Cubs team that may have ceded the NL Central to Milwaukee but is very close to clinching home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series. Plus, the Mets will finish the season against the suddenly hot Marlins, who are four games back of the third WC spot themselves.
- Dodgers at D-backs (9:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Arizona has perhaps the toughest road ahead, facing off against an L.A. club trying to win its 12th NL West title in 13 years. Then, the D-backs will close the season against the Padres, who are 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the division race.
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Aaron Judge has towered over the Majors as the most productive hitter in the sport since 2017. His 179 wRC+ and .619 slugging percentage are the best among qualified hitters. This year, he's in line to lead MLB in on-base percentage (.451) and slugging (.672) for the third time in four seasons, and he's one homer shy of his fourth 50-homer campaign. Judge is also closing in on a new achievement: his first batting title. With six games remaining, he stands atop the American League leaderboard at .326, 11 points better than the Athletics' Jacob Wilson. It's an old-fashioned stat, but one that means a lot to Judge, who was motivated to change his approach after hitting .179 during his 2016 debut year. If the 6-foot-7 Judge can secure the crown, he would be the tallest batting champion in big league history. • Quiz: Match these giants with their towering achievements By the way, the game's shortest batting champ is 5-foot-4 "Wee" Willie Keeler, who led the NL in average in 1897 and 1898 for the Baltimore Orioles. (Hint: Keeler's name appears in this "short" quiz.) There are five players who stood at 6-foot-5 and have won a batting title: Hall of Famers Joe Mauer (2006, '08 and '09), Frank Thomas (1997) and Dave Parker (1977 and '78), as well as former All-Stars Derrek Lee (2005) and John Olerud (1993). Walt Dropo (6-foot-5), Dave Winfield (6-foot-6) and Judge are the only other players to be that tall and hit at least .320 in a qualified season. Judge's .322 average last year was third best in the AL, 10 points behind the Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. for the league lead. Now the Yankees' captain is eyeing greater heights. -- Brian Murphy |
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